GALA apologizing to TheShy

The hottest recent event in the LPL esports community is probably IG's official release of a 49-minute yearly documentary. This video revealed many IG internal stories, such as jungler JIEJIE having disputes with mid-laner ROOKIE and top-laner TheShy over match strategies (JIEJIE questioned TheShy about not saving skills for team fights, while TheShy explained he was singled out by multiple opponents and couldn’t hold skills to initiate). ROOKIE himself admitted that post-match arguments among players are normal because everyone is eager to win.

Besides the official revelations from IG, the players also showed genuine emotions during interviews. Especially AD carry GALA, who specifically apologized to IG’s top-laner TheShy in the documentary. GALA felt that IG’s frequent lane swaps and resulting disadvantages were largely due to his poor performance in the bot lane. Whenever problems arose there, TheShy had to be sacrificed to force lane swaps, disrupting his growth rhythm, which made GALA feel very guilty.

GALA’s words resonated with many TheShy fans. Those who have watched IG’s matches know how great TheShy was during games. Whenever GALA’s bot lane struggled, GALA would rush to the top lane, forcing TheShy to play a weak lane and endure pressure. This often caused TheShy to be suppressed in level and gold by the opposing top laner. However, some viewers believe the bot lane mistakes shouldn’t be blamed solely on GALA since the support player Meiko also shared some responsibility.

TheShy’s former teammate returns to competition after three years!

Besides the IG documentary stirring discussions, the return of former star jungler sofm to LPL competition has also drawn attention. Sofm, a world runner-up jungler, was also TheShy’s former teammate. Many TheShy fans consider sofm the most “ruthless” jungler TheShy has faced, as sofm often prioritized farming over helping TheShy survive. A classic LPL moment shows TheShy being dived by three enemies while sofm chooses to farm the Rift Scuttler instead of assisting. Fans joked that sofm laughed while farming as TheShy got caught.

However, sofm’s comeback is not as a jungler but as a support player. This decision seems reasonable since sofm previously switched to support during his LPL tenure, though his performance was underwhelming and even criticized by huanfeng for not playing like a pro. Now as sofm tries support again, it remains to be seen if he can prove his skills. (Personally, I feel sofm hasn’t competed in three years, so his skills have likely declined significantly; his comeback might mostly be symbolic for the team.)

Can LOL players revive their careers by switching to support? In LOL esports, many players retire due to age, but some veterans reluctant to quit switch to support roles. Examples include former T1 champion AD carry bang, FNC legend Odoamne, and DWG’s champion AD carry Ghost, all of whom tried transitioning to support in recent years. However, none have achieved notable success yet. The most successful position change seems to be mid-laner Xiaohu becoming a top-laner. (Are there any cases in LOL esports where players achieved remarkable success after switching to support?)